Tuesday, 20 May 2008

The register reports that iPlayer could be used to watch Freesat programs within the next year. For those that don't know, iPlayer is the BBC's online service that basically lets you watch TV programs that have already aired over broadband. Television shows up to 7 days old are available on iPlayer. You have to pay your TV license to be able to watch shows for free and shows expire after 30 days.

So theoretically, within a year, we will be able to watch Freesat HD shows over our broadband connections. There are already ethernet ports in the back of all Freesat digital boxes (currently not in use, but there for future proofing). The biggest problem though is the huge amount of data and bandwidth an HD movie would consume. Internet Service Providers would struggle to offer cheap broadband solutions if everyone maxed out their downloads and pulled HD movies down everyday.

If you prefer a High-Definition (HD) box, then you should be sure you TV can support HD. Look for the HD ready image on your television or in your instruction manual for your TV. An HD digital box will allow you to take full advantage of freesat's high definition television. A great box for HD is the Humax Foxsat HD Freesat Set Top Box which also has the added advantage of allowing you to control a motorised satellite dish.

Monday, 12 May 2008

Freesat is today coming under fire for keeping a tight lid on the Freesat specification. Thus only selected manufacturers can make Freesat equipment. Furthermore, any channels which are already free to view on satellite will need to pay a carriage charge and sign a contract with Freesat before they will be included in the electronic programme guide. According to the Freesat specs, any non-Freesat channels that are free to view must be seperated out from the Freesat channels in the user interface of the Freesat digital receivers.

Freesat is set up as a not-for-profit company. BBC and ITV are its joint shareholders and will each put in £3m per year into the company. Obviously both ITV and the BBC will be marketing Freesat onscreen.

Meanwhile, for consumers, getting hold of Freesat receiver boxes has been difficult. Currently, you can only purchase your receiver from Argos, Currys, Comet and John Lewis, and many stores are out of stock of all boxes. Not to mention the online shopping arm of the stockists have been very slow to update pages with the products. Only Argos has a consistently update page of products.

Further teathing problems include some rumours that all Grundig, Bush and Goodmans Freesat receivers have been recalled.

Friday, 9 May 2008

The Humax Foxsat-HD digital set top box is available from several retailers. You can purchase it from Argos for £149.99. The HD box comes with an HDMI cable, scart lead and remote. It has a seven day EPG and an intuitive "find" function. There are also parental controls so children can be prevented from watching inappropriate content.

There is an Ethernet port which is currently disabled, but in the long term will allow users to receive additional content via IP.

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

BBC video reporting on Freesat highlighting the fact that freesat should solve the problem that many of us face in not being able to get a digital signal in our areas. Also points out that Sky might have a similar free satellite service though the BBC contends that Sky's free service is simply there to lure people in and convert them into paying customers.

At the press conference earlier today, Mark Thompson of the BBC introduced the new Freesat service. Check out the video clip.

He notes that one of the aims of Freesat is to make digital television available to people who do not want to pay a subscription; obviously, alluding to Sky's subscription based satellite service without actually naming his competitor.

The Guardian Unlimited has reported on the new Freesat service being offered by BBC and ITV with reports that the BBC has ambitious plans to offer on-demand programming via broadband TV services.

The Guardian reports that Mark Thompson outlined his plans at the press launch of Freesat today. Set top boxes will feature built in ethernet connections which will allow them to connect to the internet.

Offering broadband access through Freesat boxes would be available to all households within "months".

To celebrate the launch of Freesat, the Freesat website has been updated. It now has a new look and information about the Freesat service. Including information about the available channels (over 80 of them) and the on-screen programme guide.

There is also information about the various retailers that are offering the Freesat set top boxes, and some info about the boxes themselves (there are different versions - HD, non-HD, integrated PVR, Integrated TV).

Freesat set top boxes should be available from Currys, Dixons, Comet, Argos and John Lewis from today. Installations should be available from the same retailers, but if you already have a sattelite dish installed, you may just be able to plug the set top box in and get freesat without having to pay for installation.

Freesat is the new free HD sattelite TV service in the UK. It is being brought to you by the BBC and ITV. There is no extra cost for freesat. You will not have to pay a monthly subscription (unlike other sattelite services such as Sky). All you need is a sattelite dish and an appropriate sattelite receiver.

Soon you will be able to purchase a freesat dish and receiver from some of the authorised retailers, have the dish installed and begin watching some fantastic free HD sattelite TV courtesy of the BBC and ITV.

HD TV gives you better experience because there is 4 times more picture detail than regular TV. You will get fantastic pictures, great sound and wonderful colours from your freesat HD sattelite reception.